Over the coming weeks, this is where we’ll put a grab-bag of useful resources for the current museum lockdown. We’ll add to them regularly, working with Arts Council England, our Museum Development Network colleagues, and other sector bodies.
On 12 May 2020 an expert panel drawn from the Museum Development Network and convened by Collections Trust came together to answer further questions from museum staff and volunteers concerned about caring for their collections during the current lockdown.
This Museum Site Visit Checklist, from Museum Development East Midlands, is a template to aid museum staff and volunteers who wish to undertake regular site visits at their museum for collections care and security purposes during the current Covid-19 outbreak.
This resource from Interpol and ICOM recommends the implementation or reinforcement of a set of security measures.
A guide, from the South West Museum Development Programme, with tips to help you keep your museum and collections safer during the COVID-19 pandemic. It contains helpful guidance and suggested checklists.
This resource from the Museums Association draws on research into over 20 recent museum closures in the UK, and looks to understand how the governing bodies, employees, and the individuals involved responded. It outlines the legal and ethical issues relating to museum closures.
Video recording and transcript of the Q&A discussion on collection care in lockdown streamed by Collections Trust on 7 April 2020, with an expert panel drawn from the Museum Development Network.
This checklist, from Museums Galleries Scotland, is designed to help you think through some of the security risks to your museum during lockdown. The list is not exhaustive and each museum will have its own particular circumstances, so not all questions will be relevant.
This template letter, from Museums Galleries Scotland, provides an example of a letter that can be given to staff should they need to physically return to the museum or museum store for essential checks.
This resource, from Ecclesiastical Insurance, offers guidance for managing temporarily closed or permanently unoccupied properties during the COVID-19 pandemic. It covers the top 5 priorities for temporarily closed properties.
Arts Council England’s advice on meeting security and environmental conditions for the Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS) during the ‘shutdown’ of relevant venues. Also useful for museums without loans covered by GIS.
Guidance from Icon for museums and other organisations trying to care for their collections during Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown period.
Advice from Historic England on what to do if there is good reason to suspect that a symptomatic person may have touched a historic item or surface, or areas or rooms are believed to be contaminated. This web page is based on the advice from Public Health England on cleaning in non-healthcare settings.
Advice from the Collections Care Team at Museum Development London on some key things to consider if your museum will be closed without any access during the lockdown.
This resource, developed by Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, SHARE Museums East and Collections Trust, provides an introduction to the assessment and management of risk in the context of the care of museum collections.